ek mendhak ka khoon hua
uskay ird-gird ek gheray main
bachchay kharay thay
unke pyaare-pyaare
khooni haath
hawaa main uthay thay.
aasmaan main chand nikal raha tha.
ek pahari par khada
aadmi yeh sub kuch dekh raha tha.
usnay apna chera
apni topee k neechay
chuppa liya.
-tr. Ravi Kopra
Death of a Frog
(The original in Japanese)
A frog was killed.
A circle of children raised their hands.
All together
lovely
bloody hands they raised.
The moon rose.
On the hill a man was standing.
Under the hat is his face.
- Sakutaro Hagiwara (1886-1942)
tr. Edith Marcombe and Yuki Sawa